Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has selected Kenya as the location for a proposed 700,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery project aimed at serving the East African market.
The mega-refinery will be constructed in Lamu, a coastal island in Kenya, according to Edwin Devakumar, Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited.
Devakumar disclosed that the facility is expected to take about 30 months to complete, ending speculation over whether Kenya or Tanzania would host the major investment.
Tanzania had earlier been considered as one of the possible locations for the refinery. However, during a recent visit to Tanzania, Dangote informed President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the company’s decision to establish the project in Lamu based on commercial and technical considerations.
The Nigerian businessman also invited Tanzania to participate in the Lamu investment despite the decision to locate the refinery in Kenya.
Dangote had previously indicated interest in Mombasa before announcing Lamu as the final destination for the project.
The development follows the success of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria, which began operations in 2024 with a capacity of 650,000 bpd, making it Africa’s largest refinery.
The Nigerian facility is expected to expand its capacity to 1.4 million bpd by 2028, a move that would position it as the world’s largest refinery.
The Dangote refinery has significantly changed Nigeria’s petroleum landscape, reducing the country’s dependence on imported refined products despite being one of Africa’s major oil producers.
Beyond domestic supply, the refinery has also expanded into international markets, exporting aviation fuel to regions including the United States, Europe and Brazil.
The company has previously announced the export of refined petroleum products to several African countries, including Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana and Togo, as part of efforts to strengthen energy supply across the continent.
